Visiting Cape Code, MA
 

Planning to spend a week in Cape Code, MA in the mid of August with my family . Need advice with my itinerary, please.

Well, I was just there last week, though only for a couple of days. Do you have lodging booked? What sort of advice are you looking for: things to do, places to eat, best beach, shopping, where to stay, what?

I hope you know where you're staying, because August is high season and many places are already booked.

Not knowing your interests, I can just suggest what my family enjoyed doing on the Cape.

First of all we liked staying waterfront in Provincetown. There is so much to do there!

For example.....During low tide it is fun to walk out on the flats and find all the interesting creatures left behind. There are lots of good restaurants and interesting shops. Nearby you can rent bicycles and ride all through the National Seashore on paved bike paths. One day you can go on a fishing boat. Another day go on the Dolphin Fleet to observe whales. All that and more can be done in Provincetown.

Sorry but your question is much too vague - sort of like saying you are hungry and want to know what you should have for dinner.

You really have to tell us more like:

How old are your family members?

How long a trip are you planning?

Do you want to stay in one area where everything is in walking distance or are you willing to travel around the island?

What kind of things do you like to see & do?

What type of accommodations do you need - hotel, guest house, rental cottage???

What's your budget?

Where on Cape Cod do you plan to stay?

Cape Cod is a fairly big island, some 350 sq. miles with 15 distinct towns and many tiny hamlets. It's about 65 miles long and 20 miles wide at it's wides point and it has about 400 miles of coastline. The thing is, if you are going for a typical week's vacation you can't see it all.

You really need to do some first hand research and the internet is your friend. Start by looking up Cape Cod on Wikipedia for general info, then do a google search for "Things to do on Cape Cod" and "Where to stay on Cape Cod". You'll find tons of information.Study the material to narrow down your choices then come back and post specific questions.

We visited Cape Cod several times when our kids were young and enjoyed it a lot. Good luck!

I didn't book yet. But, as you mentioned, I am now planning to book. Regarding the place to book, probably will do in Provincetown. Now, as a family of four with two children of 6 and 16, need some suggestion to places to visit, fun things to do for the whole family. Thanks !

A simple google search of "Things to do in Provincetown" will bring up hundreds of links with tons of great information.

I gave you a few suggestions for Provincetown. If you give your interests and how long you'll be there I can add some more.

It will certainly be an eye opener and teachable moment about diversity for the 6 year old. check out weneedavacation.com

I'm not sure about sending a family vacation to P-town? Aren't there more appropriate places along the Cape?

Provincetown is full of families. Gay couples, straight couples--they all have families these days.

Provincetown does book up early though as do many parts of the Cape so it might be a matter of finding a vacancy for a week.

Suchda, if you don't find an apartment, I have friends who have stayed at the Even'tide Motel in Wellfleet on Rt. 6. The rooms have a small refrigerator, there is a large indoor pool for those rainy days, and it is on the main road, Rt. 6, but set back among the trees. It is right on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, a long bike path, and very near Marconi Beach, part of the National Seashore.

In Provincetown, take a tour of the dunes with Art's Dune Tours, and visit the National Seashore offices in Eastham or Provincetown. They offer many kid-friendly activities during the week.

There is also an Audubon Sanctuary in Wellfleet, which offers children activities. One of the last drive-in theaters in Massachusetts, is also in Wellfleet. It's a good family night time activity.

After you know where you are staying, you can get more advice.

P-town is definitely the more nature oriented part of the Cape. Think art studios, large sandy dunes, lots of bed and breakfasts. And you should be aware that there is a large homosexual population in P-town - if only to ensure your kids arent going to be a bit surprised. The whale watches out of the area are AMAZING and a must do with the kids.
Mid-cape is the Yarmouth area and surrounding towns - chain restaurants and mini golf courses abound. Also home to some nice beaches, but not with the same dunes/waves as you'll find in the Lower Cape (which is the northern part of Cape Cod - yes, it makes zero sense but when in Rome...). Also has whale watch options but you will spend more time travelling to the area where the whales are versus in P-town the travel time is much shorter,
Upper Cape is Falmouth area - more residential, and as someone who lives there I would say theres less to do in this area as a vacationer.
Day trips to Marthas Vineyard (shortest ferry is out of Falmouth) and Nantucket (ferry out of Hyannis) are popular. Theres a JFK memorial in Hyannis as well. You can also drive to the Kennedy Compound - depending on the day and guards somedays you will get farther in than other days!

If it was me I would probably split the trip between Lower and MidCape and take advantage of the different options in each location.

I would never suggest that Ptown would be inappropriate for families. That is just crazy talk suze. How can teaching children about tolerance and diversity be a bad thing? I was simply commenting, since I think it important to go in with eyes wide open.

http://ptownchamber.com/family/

suchda: In case you haven't figured it out yet, Provincetown is a favorite destination for gays. If that's an issue for you, stay away. But it's really not a big deal. Plenty of heterosexual families vacation in the area.

Be aware that the ocean water can be quite cold in that part of the Cape, even in midsummer, and high waves are common. On some of the beaches, you can drive up and down the dunes if you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, and park on the beach for a picnic. The kids like that.

If you don't have a place rented by now, you better hurry.

Are we now assuming that people don;t want family vacations in areas with obviously gay populations - as in most places in the world?

Pt own is full of families, but with a family I would stay in one of the places along the water on rt 6 in North Truro, or rent a house. Outside ptown you will get much more space for your money.It is very late to do so for August., unless the latter part as many kids return to school by then and thing loosen up.You can take the free trolley into ptown and the beaches from there.
Visit the National Seashore visitor center in Eastham to learn about the area . Eat at Moby Dicks on rt 6 in well fleet for lobster and Arnold's or PJ for fried clams.
Take a whale watch out of Provincetown.
If your family likes small shops and galleries, both Well fleet and Ptown are heaven.
When we went to the cape with kids we always played mini golf. It is fun to try different ones but we liked Poits the best .

I have been going to Provincetown for over 50 years, with out kids initially, then with kids and now without. My kids at all ages loved it there! It is a whole different experience to be at the tip of Cape Cod with the wonderful National Seashore for biking, the Tidal Flats, whale watching,etc.

Inappropriate for families? How bias are you, Suze and inakauaidababy.

SussieQQ you clearly have misread. I am advocating Ptown. It was suze that suggested a more 'appropriate' destination for families.

Hey I love Provincetown!! just like I like Key West, Lahaina, Venice Beach, any of many funky honky tonky beach towns.

I just assumed with kids you'd want (as others have described) something not quite so 'vibrant'or alternative... like a cottage on a beach somewhere where kids would play outside, rather than a densely populated area of bars, shops, tattoo parlors, etc. P-town is one very busy place.

Look at Dennisport and West Yarmouth. Child friendly beaches, calmer and warmer water than Atlantic Ocean.

Well, we all know what happens when you assume...

There are great areas for families all along the Cape. If you do stay in the Provincetown area, check out the Province Lands National Seashore visitor center for schedules of activities. There are natural trails, guided natural activities, bird watching walks, all sorts of things.

You can rent bikes and ride along national seashore trails. There is also the Cape Cod Rail Trail which runs between Dennis and Wellfleet.

As stated above, check out the schedule of activities at the Audubon sanctuary in Wellfleet.

Kayaking and swimming in ponds all throughout the Cape. Walking along the flats of Cape Cod Bay between Brewster and Eastham at low tide. This area is marvelous for walking at low tide but not swimmable at that time, then at high tide you can swim. The water in the ocean is cold, Nantucket Sound is warmest, and Cape Cod Bay is cool.

There are band concerts in some towns on certain evenings, including Sunday evenings in Brewster and one night a week a very large one in Chatham. Boat trips to see seals leave from Harwichport and sail around Monomoy. Great home made ice cream places in most towns on the Cape.

Fishing charters leave from several locations. Unfortunately, the Cape Cod League baseball season will be over by August.

Possibilities are endless.

<Well, we all know what happens when you assume...>

Helpful as always NewbE.

Not to mention, what I'm saying agrees with many other families posting here with suggestions of other less congested parts of the Cape for a family beach vacation.

Just for your information the waterfront in Provincetown is wonderful for kids. At low tide it is a fantasy world of interesting creatures. My two loved playing there for as long as low tide lasted.

Nice try, suze, but it's clear to everyone that you were warning a family away from P'town because it's too gay. Other are saying it might be too congested, or that a rental won't be available at this late date. or that the water there might be too rough for little kids.

sure I think visiting the central waterfront area of Provincetown would be fun for an afternoon. But these people are asking where to stay for one week.

I have many friends all around New England who vacation annually and/or own homes on the Cape. For decades. None are in P-town.

suze, I personally know three families with young children, all straight that have condos on the water at ptown for a week this summer. One is during family week, the other two are not.
From ptown it is easy and free to get to several beaches on the trolley.
There is really not anywhere uncontested on the cape in July and August.

Another though it to rent in Wellfleet giving one access to several gorgeous fresh water kettle ponds as an alternative to bay and ocean.

We enjoyed staying in Chatham on our first, and very abbreviated, trip to the Cape. However, Wellfleet and P'town seemed to us to have more for families with kids--but we don't have kids, so that could be wrong.

How the OP went from planning a trip to Machu Picchu to P'town is classic fodor.

So what? They changed their minds, I guess.

Macchu Picchu. Provincetown. I can see the similarities and why it would be a toss-up.